


Pieces of a Missing Sky

by marvinwhizzer



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Carlos is a Good husband, M/M, One Shot, Parallel Universes, The Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex, episode 107: the missing sky, mild angst?, no clue what to tag this tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-24 05:18:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17094614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvinwhizzer/pseuds/marvinwhizzer
Summary: “Another being appeared over the hole in our sky, listeners. It was… another man. He…”Cecil takes a shaky breath.“He wasme.”





	Pieces of a Missing Sky

**Author's Note:**

> i've only listened up to episode 111, but I know the city goes away when the rest of the weird alternate timelines do so I think this is probably canon compliant? anyway here's a thing, set after the events of ep107, one of my favourite episodes in quite a while!  
> also this is my first wtnv fic on ao3 but I've been into this show for years and years now and i love it with all my heart (ive never been caught up tho lmao)  
> hope you enjoy :)

“Listeners, I-I saw that face up in the sky again today. That wretched, horrible, breathtakingly beautiful being that took away our sky many dreary months ago. You know, the one with perfect hair and perfect teeth, who looks a lot like a human, only at least 50 times bigger and with a face too captivating to belong to a mere mortal… It… He… I saw him again, peering down at our city from above as if it were just something small, something puny and of little significance. His rich brown eyes looked …. concerned. I wondered what something so beautiful and colossal as him had to be concerned about. I stared up at him in awe, overtaken by his supernatural beauty. ‘This is a being far greater than us,’ I thought. ‘Perhaps he took away our world for a reason.’

“He leaned momentarily away from the crack in the sky. I thought perhaps that I heard voices, but it was impossible to make out just what they were saying or what language they were even in.

“And then…”

A tremulous sigh.

“Now, listeners, this is not the first time that I've encountered … things that should not be possible. Normally, these things don't have too great of an affect on me, I've seen things that go far beyond the bounds of our reality many times over the course of my years. A great glowing cloud that drops dead animals to the Earth, strange masked giants stealing our homes, our stolen sky and crumbling reality… This, however, listeners… This particular thing has troubled me deeply. I… don’t think I can carry on with this show until I am able to explain this. At the same time, though… I fear the explanation.”

“Another being appeared over the hole in our sky, listeners. It was… another man. He…”

Cecil takes a shaky breath.

“He was _me_.”

Beat.

“Well, of course, he wasn't _me_ , because _I_ am me, but I know me when I see me, listeners.

“ _I_ appeared over the hole in the sky. One arm threaded into the beautiful-haired man's, I peered into our reality, with a horrible expression of disdain and fear painted across my gigantic facial features. I -- as in, _me_ \-- had a realization then, listeners.

“It would appear that this is not some sort of godlike creature, nor even a man playing god. They simply think that they are the normal ones, and that _we_ are the abnormally sized ones. From the look on that me’s face… I fear that our counterattacks on them may have had a greater impact than we had imagined. Knowing this now, I… I wish I could somehow make contact with them, only… If that really is _me_ up there, I fear it would upset the whole fabric of reality. Although I suppose the fabric of reality is being torn to shreds in the first place for this situation to even _exist_. I don't know. It's a tough situation. I can't sit here, complicit, knowing that the people up there are… just like us. In fact, some of the people up there may literally _be_ us. And now this whole war, this whole …. misunderstanding. We need to contact them, listeners. _I_ need to contact them. It is my duty to be the voice of this town and I should take it upon myself to speak when we are most in need of a voice.”

Cecil sighs.

“I just don't know how.”

He spends a moment in heavy, contemplative silence, head in his hands.

Then, he picks his neglected papers up from his desk, clearing his throat.

“Well ... I suppose I should report the weather now…”

☆☆☆☆☆

Cecil returns home that night, glad to hear that the popcorn-popping from under the earth has subsided. On the drive home from the station, he listens to soft pop music on the stereo. It does nothing to relieve his anxious mood.

He turns the key once he's parked in the driveway, and the music stops as the car engine winds down. The silence is abrupt and unsatisfying.

Cecil locks the car door behind him, and makes his way up the driveway toward the house. As he ascends the short steps to the door, he allows a smile to return to his face. It's almost dinner time, and that means time to be spent with his wonderful husband.

“I'm hooooome,” he calls out, sing-song.

There is no response.

“Carlos?”

He enters the foyer and shuts the door behind him. Silence.

“Honey Bunny?”

Starting to become concerned, Cecil strides towards Carlos’ office at the end of the hall. The lights are off.

He pulls out his phone, only to see a new voicemail notification. He must have missed the call from Carlos while he was on the way home, his phone still on silent from being at the radio station.

Cecil draws the phone to his ear.

“Hi, honey,” Carlos’ voice chimes. “Guess I got your voicemail. Okay, I _know_ you don't want me going back to the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex, and I _completely_ understand why, but I _had_ to go. I'm a scientist, Cecil, and I need to be able to do … science things. I know that you're just worried about me, and I get it. And I appreciate it. I'm so thankful to have you there to worry about me every day. It means everything to me. You--you're so good to me, Cecil. I love you, so, _so_ much. I wouldn't trade your love for all the science in the world. I promise -- _promise_ \-- to be safe. I won't enter the city again under any circumstances. I just need to examine them a little bit more, run some tests. I want to understand more about who they are and how they exist, so I’m going to have to stare at them for a while and use science and probably say ‘hmm’ a lot. Nilanjana, Luisa, and the team are all with me, and we'll leave immediately if things start to seem dangerous at all, okay? I love you to the incomprehensible moon and back, honey. I’ll be safe. I promise. And I'll make up for missing dinner another way tonight, okay? Talk to you soon.”

☆☆☆☆☆

“Listeners… The man-- The large, incomprehensibly beautiful intruder… has returned to once again peer down at our little town. I-I have to make contact with him. I fear it is the only way to stop this treacherous, _pointless_ war that we are stuck in. Uh, I take you now to some pre-recorded sponsored ads, because those are the only things I have pre-recorded. I record enough in advance to last me through a few weeks of shows, so, um, this should buy me some time. I'll be back.”

Cecil jumps up from the desk as fast as he can.

“Probably,” he adds into the microphone before taking off in a run. Preoccupied with that weather report, Cecil didn't have much time to formulate a plan, but he has one desperate idea in mind. He grabs some equipment from the station, and he runs. He runs and he runs, not without difficulty in his tight leather pants. He curses himself for not changing out of them that morning, when he had contemplated it for the fourth morning in a row and eventually shrugged it off. I mean, when you’re single and live alone in a crumbling, dying reality, what's really the use, right?

Cecil makes his way as fast as he can to the tallest building in Night Vale. He rushes up several flights of stairs, apologizing to confused passersby on the way. On the roof, he procures a megaphone from his station equipment. The huge people have not noticed him yet. They -- the perfect man and a couple of white-coated people (scientists?) are still above, but they don't seem to see him.

“Sky people!” Cecil shouts into the megaphone. The people don't look his way. “I need to speak to you!!”

Some citizens of Night Vale are stopping to look curiously up at Cecil now. As his disembodied voice talks about delicious Pepsi products and convenient phone apps over speakers somewhere nearby, his embodied voice yells desperately up into the missing sky.

“I come in peace! I don't want to hurt you. Please listen to what I need to say. You destroyed my town, you destroyed my world, but I’m not here to attack you.”

The giant people are looking now, too.

“My name is Cecil Gershwin Palmer,” he shouts, “and for the sake of my town and my people, please give me a chance to say what I want to say. I think we can end this war!”

Cecil watches as a murmur passes through the scientists. Their shock and disbelief are evident on their larger than life faces. He can feel the sweat running down the back of his neck as eyes and cameras start to turn to him from below. He is probably breaking the law somehow, but he understands that it wouldn't be the first time.

There is an uncomfortable anticipation as the giant people discuss what to do about Cecil's statements. There seems to be vehement insistence on the part of the perfect-haired one.

After some anxiety-inducing amount of time, a rope is being extended down towards Night Vale. Or rather, an oversized piece of string. Cecil isn't sure what he's doing, or if it will be safe, but it is too late to back down now. He grabs hold of the string, and the giants start to pull him up into the sky. He squeezes his eyes shut, praying to Huntokar for his safety, and more importantly, that of his home and his people.

When he opens his eyes again, he sees three huge people crouched at the edge of a cliff, overlooking his town. He is hanging from a pair of fingers. A massive hand reaches towards Cecil, palm turned upwards. An invitation?

Too overwhelmed to really give anything much thought, Cecil jumps off the rope and onto the hand, which is now making his way towards a giant face. He looks up to see just whose face it is.

He is sweating twelve times harder now.

Despite all of the concern across his facial features, the giant man is the epitome of perfection. His long hair is cutely mussed from what has probably been a long day of work, his eyes are deep brown and literally gigantic enough to get lost in, and his caramel skin is rich and breathtaking enough to draw tears into the corners of Cecil's eyes. He has a slight stubble growing on his jaw, chin, and upper lip, and Cecil can't help but daydream what kissing him would feel like.

Cecil stares at him in wonder. He stares back, the two of them wide-eyed, mouths agape.

“You said you're… Cecil Palmer?” he breaks the silence eventually. His voice is a lot gentler than Cecil would have expected for someone so big.

“I… yes. I am.”

The scientist says nothing. He appears to be totally at a loss for words for a few moments.

“It … would appear that you are. This is … extremely curious! And unexpected. And highly, _highly_ unusual. This is unlike anything I've seen before. I--”

“I know. I feel that way as well. I don't understand how or why our worlds could have possibly collided like this, but… I saw...  _me..._ up here with you. _I_ exist in your world, as a different me. Is this … Night Vale?”

“This… this is Night Vale, yes.”

“But… That is Night Vale.” Cecil gestures towards the city below them.

“Two Night Vales…” says the scientist. “I… Similar things have happened in the past, but never anything quite like this. Huh. So, down there… that is a tiny version of Night Vale.”

Cecil nods.

“With a little tiny Cecil! Are there versions of all Night Vale citizens down there? Is there a little tiny me down there as well?”

“I… no, I've never seen you before in my life.”

The scientist looks hurt. “R..really? No…”

“Really. Apart from when you set your giant foot in our town and debuted the war that has lasted the last few years. But-- I forgive you for that now that I understand the situation. To us, you're a giant intruder, but to you, we're just tiny ant people… I totally get it! It's in the past, honestly. And well, you're _beautiful_ \-- I mean, you probably had nothing to do with all the stolen houses, you're probably…”

The giant doesn't seem to be listening. “You really don't know who I am?”

“A… scientist?”

“Correct. But…?”

Cecil shakes his head.

“Well, I guess I should introduce myself, then. Here, why don't we…” The scientists begin to climb up to the world above them, and Cecil holds his breath in anticipation. The giant man sets Cecil down on a smooth, synthetic surface. He looks around, in awe at his surroundings. They are inside of a building. The team of titan scientists sit cross legged on the floor, surrounded by oversized papers and clipboards and unrecognizable devices. The man holds his hand out to Cecil once again, and he takes in a sharp breath.

“Cecil, welcome to Night Vale. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Carlos, the scientist. I'm Cecil Palmer's husband.”

☆☆☆☆☆

Back at home, Cecil fixes himself a bowl of leftovers from the fridge and settles in to the couch. He worries about Carlos, but knows that there's nothing he can do to stop him when he gets like this, and that there would be no point in interrupting him while he's at work. He feels hopeful about that last bit of the voicemail, where he said he would make up for missing dinner some way. Cecil has a lot of ways on his mind. He turns on the TV and flips idly through the selection of government-approved channels. He lands on a cheesy soap opera, you know, the one where the dog is secretly a vampire and the kids find out and they get up to wacky shenanigans trying to hide it from their parents? Classic.

Much sooner than expected, Cecil's phone is lighting up: Incoming call from Carlos.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Cecil.”

“Carlos, hi, what’s up? Are you done your investigation?”

“Not quite. Um, now please don't be alarmed, but, um. I made a very strange discovery on the city below Lane 5.”

“Are you hurt? Did something happen?”

“No, no, I'm perfectly fine, Cece. I think we're going to end this war, actually! I just … needed to call and hear your voice again for a bit. Nothing happened. This is all just a bit overwhelming.”

Cecil's heart pangs. He can't help but flashback to the day he almost lost Carlos to that wretched tiny city. “I understand, Carlos. I love you.”

“I love you, too. I’ll tell you everything later. Now, I-I shouldn't stay long, I sort of ran off from the investigation to call you, but I felt bad for just sending that long, rambly, excuse-y voicemail instead of coming here on your actual permission. I'm sorry for doing things that you don't like.”

“No, Carlos, it’s okay. I do understand and I don't think that your voicemail was ‘excuse-y.’ As long as you know I'm taking that last sentence to heart, we're all good.”

Carlos chuckles, a little embarrassed. “Yeah?”

“Yes. Just … be careful. I trust you. Thank you for calling me.”

“Thank you.”

“Now go back there and do some sciencey things! End some wars! I'll be waiting for you at home. Stay safe.”

“I will. I promised, remember? I love you, Cecil.”

“I love you too.”

“See you at home.”

The line clicks.

☆☆☆☆☆

The truce was easily agreed upon, but understanding the logistics of this combination of universes was something else entirely. Some of the discrepancies in timelines between Carlos’ Night Vale and this other Night Vale concerned the scientist greatly.

“What are we going to do about this, now?”

“I’m not sure. The blending of realities here is… unprecedented. At the very least we won't be killing each other any more.”

“Yes, I suppose that's true…” Tiny Cecil doesn’t look as happy as he should for having accomplished his mission of ending the war.

“Cecil,” Carlos asks. “What's the matter?”

Cecil laughs dryly. “Am I that easy to read?”

“I guess I've sorta been in love with you for a while,” Carlos grins sheepishly.

Cecil turns five shades redder. “Oh, Huntokar,” he murmurs. “Carlos, I… I've only just met you, but… I feel like I'm meant to love you, too.”

Carlos smiles. Then he frowns. The weight of all of this is really starting to catch up with him. “I'm sorry,” he whispers. “What was on your mind?”

Cecil looks agitated. “H...how am I supposed to go back down there, knowing that I don't get to have you? Cecil ... is your husband. And _I'm_ Cecil. But I'm not your husband. This isn't my reality. In my reality, I'm no one's husband. I hardly even have family left anymore. I don't even get to look out at the sky at night because the sky is _gone_.”

“I'm so sorry,” is all Carlos can say. What are you even supposed to say in this situation? He feels for this Cecil, and he cares about him the exact same way he cares about his own Cecil, but he sees no viable solution. As tears well in the tiny Cecil's eyes, all Carlos can do is apologize, over and over. “I'm sorry for-- I'm sorry that you had to see yourself in the sky. Life probably could have gone on better without you knowing.”

“No…” Cecil says suddenly, in a small moment of clarity. “No. It is always better to know. Even when the truth hurts, it is better to know it.”

“That's… a brave thing to say. But it's a wise way of thinking. I… originally wasn't planning on telling my husband about all this, but ... maybe you're right. Maybe he would rather know than not know.”

“Carlos?” Cecil asks suddenly, looking up at him.

“What?”

“How did you and your … husband ... get together?”

“Oh?” Carlos is surprised to hear the question, but he can't help but laugh. “It actually was… on the day that your town almost killed me. The day I stepped in your world and started this whole mess. Well, I met Cecil the very first day I came to Night Vale. I heard his voice on the radio. Those rich, dulcet tones from that honeyed voice. I… I fell in love instantly. Then, we didn't interact too much. I was very preoccupied with science and things, and I always had the policy to never interact with anyone outside of a work environment, because… well, to be honest, I was afraid of people. I was afraid of having a crush so I ignored it whenever I possibly could. It wasn't until that day… See, I-I thought it was scientifically fascinating that your world could exist beneath our bowling alley. I was merely doing scientific research when I invaded. I can see now that it did more harm than good. As you know, I was attacked. And afterwards… After almost dying…… The only thing on my mind was … him. So I called him. And I told him to meet me in the Arby's parking lot -- it made sense at the time -- and we sat together, on top of my car, and pretended like we understood the mysterious lights passing overhead in the sky…” Carlos smiles, looking down at Cecil once more. “And the rest is history.”

“We almost killed you,” Cecil murmurs.

“And now I'm grateful for it every single night. It's funny how life works, isn't it?”

A silence falls over the room.

“I… I suppose you should return me back home now, or the people there might start to worry,” Cecil starts. He looks a fair deal calmer than he had before. Carlos hopes that his story helped in some way.

“I have a lot of explanations to give over the radio… some that people might not want to hear.”

“I believe in you.”

“Hey, and Carlos? One last thing…”

“Yes, Cecil?”

“Are you native to your Night Vale?”

“No. I was… an interloper.”

“What brought you?”

“I came because ... Night Vale is the most scientifically interesting community in probably the entire world. Why do you ask?”

Cecil blinks, breathless. “It's just that… I've never ever met a scientist before.”

“Never, huh? Well, my Cecil always says that everyone has been a scientist at some point or another in their life. So you never know. Maybe you have met one before. Or maybe you'll still meet one yet.”

Cecil smiles. “Thanks, Carlos.”

He smiles back, showing off a glimpse of his perfect teeth.

He says goodbye to this Cecil, and sends him on his way back to his home ten feet below the pin retrieval area of lane 5.

“Good luck,” Carlos says. “I hope everything goes okay for you. And we'll be here, watching over you.”

“Thank you.”

Carlos scoops Cecil up in his hands and gently kisses his tiny forehead. “We won't forget you.”

“I-” Cecil gasps. “I couldn't forget you if I tried.”

☆☆☆☆☆

“...And that's the story, listeners! The war with the giant people is over, and we can live in peace once again! I understand it’s a little bit shocking to hear that that is another version of Night Vale up there, but at least now we know, right? At least we don't have to wonder anymore. And if it still is upsetting to you, look on the bright side! There will be no more casualties, no more moments spent fretting for our loved ones’ safety! The scientists promised that they had no part in stealing our homes, and they said they are setting up surveillance to try and keep us safe from those interlopers now.

“We may never get our sky back, but at least we can sleep soundly knowing that no more danger is going to be emerging from above!”

Cecil grins.

“Well, _you_ can. I, on the other hand, will be lying awake thinking about Carlos the scientist every night until I die. Good night, Night Vale, good night.”

**Author's Note:**

> episode 107 RUINED ME i couldnt stop thinking how sad i was for mini cecil that CARLOS destroyed his world and he doesnt even get his own carlos... i tried to give him a semi-happy ending, and i like to imagine that after ep 110 when our night vale went back to normal, the tiny night vale went back to normal too, and that some time in the future cecil does get to meet and fall in love with his own universe's carlos :')


End file.
